If she likes pink, give her pink.
Yes it's tempting to want to design from your own taste, but sometimes despite our best efforts to want to avoid the pink/blue gender dichotomy, little girls wants pink.
There is something about pink. Pink is warm, loving, comforting.
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In Rudolph Steiner philosophy, a soft warm pink colour palette is used for young children both at home and at kindergartens because of its gently active and supportive quality. Feminine and lovingly innocent, pink can be a natural choice for a daily embracing environment for children.
The important issue is how you design with pink so it doesn't become overly girly.
Here are five tips for designing with pink in your girl's bedroom that will create a dreamy, warm space rather than a cotton candy nightmare.
1. Use accents
A good way to use pink without it getting sickly sweet is to use pink as an accent throughout the room rather than the dominant colour.
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It's also really practical to keep walls neutral and dress the room with pink textiles, artwork and furniture as these can be repainted or updated as your daughter grows and her tastes change.
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Pink furniture like a bedside table or wardrobe, can be a wonderful, fun addition to the room.
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The novelty factor wins big brownie points with kids and investing in solid, sustainable timber furniture means you can always re-purpose the piece with a lick of paint when you want to move away from the pink theme.
Urbansize limited edition pink bedside table
Invest in quality pieces that are flexible to grow with your child or be repurposed elsewhere in the house rather than cheap, disposable children's furniture.
Plastic childrens' furniture creates a bad, institutional, daycare vibe.
Keep textures at home as natural as possible, to create a relaxing, cosy environment where your daughter can totally be herself.
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Creating a pink theme can also be as simple as coordinating pink textiles and artwork.
Beds often take up a substantial focus of the room so finding beautiful pink bedlinen and some comfy cushions can be a simple way to pull together a pink theme.
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Invest in organic cotton bedlinen to promote a good night's sleep and think through lighting carefully.
You can have a soft nightlamp on the bedside table that's practical for bedtime storytelling and if you have a very little girl, can also be left on while she falls asleep.
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Heico's mushroom bedside lamps are fun and create a soft warm glow little ones can fall asleep to.
2. Combine pink with whimsical patterns and contrasting colours
Your daughter's own interests should define the personal, original and fun details in the room. Think about what she enjoys and stretch outside the ballerinas and fairies box, unless she REALLY is into ballet or unicorns of course!
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You can offset the pink design elements with details in other colours - a green play kitchen, a colourful doll collection.
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You can also offset pink with patterned textile or wallpaper for some quirky charm or vintage feel.
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3. Don't double up
If you're doing pink walls, avoid matching pink furniture.
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If you're painting, keep it light and pastel. A whole room painted in candy pink can be difficult to tone down. If your girl really wants vibrant pink walls, compromise with a feature wall (or why not floor?) and keep the others neutral.
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If you go for a pale pink in the whole room, you can use brighter pink coloured furniture, but limit it to a piece or two. The more vivid the walls, the more cautious you should be with pink furniture or accessories.
Another option is to pick a complementary tone for the walls, like a pale mint green, or sunny yellow which will break up the pink, but still create a warm, feminine feel.
4. Hello Kitty in moderation
Watch out for plastic fantastic.
It's natural that especially young children will be interested in Disney, who do pink to the hilt.
Hold well meaning grandparents back on gifts of Disney bedspreads, curtains or even furniture as you don't want your daughter's room looking like this.
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Avoid plastic pink nightmares by paring down on the pink plastic and packing as much away behind closet doors and in drawers.
If she is totally mad for Hello Kitty, Dora or the like, compromise with a few franchised elements, like a cushion or bedspread. Don't attempt to match everything in the room to that character as the room will loose all personality.
Encourage your child to express other interests in their bedroom rather than making it all about Disney.
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Introducing their own artwork or photos of family and friends can be a good way to personalize it.
5. Select favourite toys to display, pack the rest away
Both for the sake of minimizing clutter and avoiding the plastic fantastic - put the toys away.
Allow a shelf or two like some box shelves to put some beloved toys out on display and pack the rest away.
Don't have open shelving as it will quickly become cluttered. One carefully curated room divider or bookcase is fine, but most toys should be stored where doors can shut and drawers can close the stuff away.
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Alternatively, a quick practical solution for small children are baskets, bags or boxes that make it easy for little kids to pack away.
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Similarly with clothes, or dress up clothes, you could allow a hanging rack or hooks for favourite items that can be out on display and pack the rest away. Little fashionistas often love having favourite items out and there are lots of interesting ways to do so.
A popular trend is a homemade driftwood hanging rack, or you can use a hatstand or adapt an existing piece.
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If you pack most of the toys away, you can get rid of a lot pink littering the scene and be more deliberate about the special toys and pink decorations that are on display.
Hanging lights, garlands and homemade paper decorations are all simple ways to cosy up the room and match key pieces like a pink bedside table.
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Some girls dream of a pink room. In 2019, as much as we might want to iron that out for a more politically correct tone, pink still has its novelty value.
Psychologically, there are good grounds for wanting to nod off in a comforting pink wonderland, so if your daughter is inclined - go for it. There are definitely ways to do pink without it becoming overly girly.
Focus on accents and balancing out the pink elements with either neutral tones, happy patterns or contrasting colours.
Try limit the amount of plastic in the room and aim to include details that are personal for your child which can be as simple as including family photos or her own artwork.
Pink can be gorgeous - design from your child's wishes, balance it out, and you'll end up with a beautiful, functional room she'll want to spend time in.
